The Third Scholar of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 9

Three people

The next day, as they set off, Li Yuxuan noticed an extra carriage parked in front of the post station. Just as she was wondering about it, Prince Xin jumped down from the carriage: "Lord Li, isn't this carriage that I had the local government send over last night quite nice? So, how about we continue riding horses today, or take my carriage?"

This is absolutely a blatant temptation—

That damned vixen—

Should he succumb to the temptation or continue the arduous journey that was already causing his backside to become calloused? Li Yuxuan was hesitating when Xu Qingzhi stepped out of the carriage: "Third brother, this was specially prepared by the Prince because he was worried that the journey was long and that you wouldn't be able to withstand the fatigue of riding a horse. Go ahead, we've already made arrangements inside the carriage. You can rest in the carriage, and the Prince and I will just ride along and keep watch."

"Aren't you going to ride together?" Li Yuxuan looked at Prince Xin with hesitation. She would rather die than ride in a carriage with two grown men.

Prince Xin's lips curled into his signature smile again: "That depends on Lord Li's politeness, or perhaps Lord Xu and I will occasionally come to rest for a while."

"Then it's settled. You ride horses, I'll ride in the carriage. You can come in and rest occasionally, and I'll go out riding sometimes." Li Yuxuan couldn't stand the Prince Xin's mocking smile. With a heroic air, he handed his mount to a soldier beside him and jumped into the carriage: "Your Highness, I will respectfully accept your offer. Thank you for your consideration!"

Upon seeing Li Yuxuan get into the carriage, Prince Xin raised an eyebrow, jumped onto the carriage's driver's seat, and cracked his whip: "Let's go!"

The horse immediately reared up and galloped away. Li Yuxuan had just sat down in the carriage when he heard Prince Xin's voice. He quickly pulled open the carriage curtain and saw Prince Xin's straight back as he raised his whip.

Xu Qingzhi rode alongside Prince Xin. The sun and wind of the past few days had turned his originally pale face red, but his galloping figure finally revealed a hint of masculinity to Li Yuxuan. Seeing Li Yuxuan peek out at him, he turned and smiled at her.

Li Yuxuan smiled slightly, then shrank back inside. Oh well, she was already on the bandwagon; let Prince Xin do whatever he wanted. She couldn't change his mind anyway. He was an absolutely self-centered and domineering man.

Sitting in the carriage was much more comfortable than riding a horse. Li Yuxuan began to carefully examine the carriage. It was quite large, with six seats, all covered with fine furs, several small cushions, and a quilt. A box was placed on the front right side of the carriage. She sat down and opened the box, finding it filled with various small pastries. She touched them; they were still warm, having been placed there that morning. Underneath the pastries were also many almonds, walnuts, and peanuts—probably the best things one could buy in this small town.

Who put this there? Was it Prince Xin or Xu Qingzhi?

She grabbed a handful of almonds, ate two, and then a thought flashed through her mind. She remembered what Prince Xin had said: "I have eyes that have seen countless people. I myself have grown up among women, so I am particularly good at recognizing men and women..." Women, snacks? Pshaw—she almost fell for his trick again.

Li Yuxuan quickly put the almonds back in the box. Trying to lure me with delicious food? No way!

She reclined on her seat, clutching a cushion, and lifted one of the curtains to look at the scenery outside. The further north she went, the more desolate it became. There were hardly any pedestrians on the official road, only mountains, one higher than the next, standing before her.

Are there any bandits in these mountains?

Li Yuxuan had been worried about this problem since the very beginning. He always felt that there was something wrong with Haitang's sudden visit. He thought that one day a band of robbers would suddenly appear and wipe them out.

If only I had martial arts skills! Even if I couldn't protect others, just protecting her and Yinzi would be enough. And Xu Qingzhi should be protected too. Prince Xin? Never mind him, a scourge lives on forever, he's not going to die anyway…

She simply closed her eyes and began to imagine herself having mastered unparalleled martial arts, like in a martial arts movie, dressed in white, her clothes fluttering, flying through the forest, surrounded by a mountain of handsome men, all craning their necks and drooling as they gazed at her.

Huh, saliva? Why does my face feel so cold?

She reached up and touched her face, opened her eyes, and found that rain had fallen on her face. The sky outside had darkened, and a cool breeze carrying a drizzle was blowing against her face.

The weather in these mountains is so annoying. Just a moment ago the sun was shining brightly, and now it's pouring rain. Yesterday was the same; it was sunny one minute and raining the next, then sunny again, and then raining while the sun was shining.

But it seems the rain is getting heavier?

She heard Prince Xin telling everyone to find a spacious place to pitch their tents and take shelter from the rain. Then the carriage stopped.

She lifted the curtain in front of her, just as she was about to see what was going on, a purple figure was already in front of her. Seeing that she wanted to get out, the figure stretched out his hand and blocked her from entering the carriage.

Li Yuxuan had only wanted to look outside, but the force of the push made him lose his footing. He stumbled back two steps and fell into the innermost seat.

Prince Xin bent down and sat down, his face showing displeasure: "What were you doing outside? Getting soaked in the rain or directing others to take shelter?"

Li Yuxuan always adhered to three principles when dealing with him: he wouldn't bother him unless it was official business, unless it was a matter of life and death, and unless there was no other way to avoid it. He pretended not to see or hear his rudeness and called out to Xu Qingzhi, who was still directing people to take shelter from the rain outside, "Brother, come in and get out of the rain!"

Xu Qingzhi nodded, but did not come in immediately.

Prince Xin knew that Li Yuxuan had been deliberately avoiding him these past few days. Every time he rode ahead, she would follow behind; when he turned to the back, she would spur her horse and ride ahead. Clever as she was, she must have known he had figured something out. But now that he had, how could she possibly escape him? She had underestimated him.

Ignoring her reaction, he sat down in front of the wooden box, opened it, took out some pastries and ate them, then handed one to Li Yuxuan: "Want some?"

Li Yuxuan, whose nose was already tantalized by the aroma filling the carriage, accepted the pastries without hesitation: "Thank you, Your Highness!"

She saw Yinzi's small figure standing under a big tree, taking shelter from the rain. On the hillside not far away, tents were being set up one after another.

She felt sorry for Yinzi, and knew that Yinzi, a mere servant, had no right to sit in this carriage. She could only sigh, turn her gaze away, and sit properly in the carriage.

She watched as Prince Xin finished his snack and began peeling peanuts, his eyes fixed on the peanuts in his hand, saying nothing and not even glancing at her. He held the peanuts in his hand, shelled but not eating them, creating an awkwardly strange atmosphere in the carriage.

She blushed slightly, feeling a little awkward, and reached out to grab some dried fruit to try and change the atmosphere in the car, as well as to ease her inexplicable anxiety.

Just as her outstretched hand reached the wooden box, Prince Xin unexpectedly grabbed it. She felt her head swell with blood, her heart leap into her mouth, and before she could even utter a sound, Prince Xin looked up at her with a gentle smile, and placed the peeled peanuts he was holding into her hand: "Eat!"

"ah--"

"I don't eat peanuts."

"Then why did you peel it?"

"I'm thinking about something..."

"Ah—" Li Yuxuan shut her mouth as soon as she uttered the word "ah," because Prince Xin had started peeling peanuts again and was no longer looking at her.

Li Yuxuan sat back down, looking at the peanuts in his hand, feeling as if he had just been dreaming. Was this Prince Xin? Looking at Prince Xin again, he saw that his brows were deeply furrowed, clearly as he had said, he was thinking about something.

What kind of problems is he thinking about here, so far from the capital?

Furthermore, she felt that his volunteering to come with them to deliver the New Year's money was not in line with the normal logic of things. Why did he have to leave the luxurious and comfortable capital and come out to live a life of hardship and danger with them?

Could it be that he's worried about her, yet unable to reverse the Emperor's decree, so he's deliberately following her out to monitor her?

Impossible. She's not that charming, nor is she that narcissistic. There are many ways to monitor her.

So why? Was he using this opportunity to give out New Year's money to scheme against something?

By the way, danger—should we tell him about Haitang's matter? It's always good to be safe than sorry. At worst, we can just laugh at her for being paranoid.

"Prince Xin!" Although she didn't like him, she couldn't bear to break his reverie and called out softly.

"Hmm?" He looked up, a smile returning to his lips. "You called me first? Something important has happened?"

"You!" Li Yuxuan was furious. This person was indeed not someone to be close to, but for the sake of her head, she would endure it! "Your Highness, I suddenly remembered something and wanted to tell you."

"Okay!" He put down the peanuts, handed her the peanut kernels in his hand, and said with an unusually serious expression, "Speak!"

Li Yuxuan then recounted in detail the story of how Haitang had come to see her that day.

Prince Xin watched her until she finished speaking before smiling and asking, "What are you worried about?"

Li Yuxuan didn't want to argue with him: "I'm worried that Haitang is lying, and I'm worried that we might be in danger along the way."

"Hehe." Prince Xin laughed upon hearing this: "With me here, do you still worry about your safety?" Then his face darkened, and he turned his gaze away from her body to look outside the carriage: "Trust me, I will not let anyone hurt you."

A storm is brewing

Seeing his serious expression, Li Yuxuan's heart skipped a beat. These words seemed a bit out of place and inappropriate for the person—Was Prince Xin truly a master among women, or did he indeed harbor homosexual feelings for her? If only someone else had said these words, she would have been moved to tears and offered herself in return. Alas, what a waste of such a good line.

She composed herself and chuckled, "I know Your Highness is a man of great talent and foresight. You probably already know about this without me having to tell you, right?"

Upon hearing her words, Prince Xin, whose face had been serious, couldn't help but chuckle: "You're just teasing me! You sycophant."

Li Yuxuan couldn't help but smile, and finally, the two of them burst into laughter. In this laughter, Li Yuxuan felt that her relationship with Prince Xin had undergone a strange change, as if their enmity had been forgotten with a smile, and they were no longer enemies but friends.

A servant of Prince Xin came to report from outside the carriage: "Your Highness, the tents have all been set up. Lord Xu requests that you and Lord Li come over."

Li Yuxuan opened the carriage curtain, and the rain outside intensified. A cool breeze blew in, and she unconsciously shrank back a little. Prince Xin jumped down from the carriage, took the raincoat from his attendant and draped it over his shoulders, then stretched out his hand to Li Yuxuan: "Get down, hurry up!"

Li Yuxuan took his hand and jumped down. Prince Xin used a little force to pull her into his raincoat, and the two rushed towards the large tent in the middle of the rain.

A fire had already been lit inside the tent, and Xu Qingzhi was standing by the fire drying his clothes. When he saw them come in, he quickly came over to greet them.

Seeing that he was soaked to the bone and rain was still dripping from his hair, Li Yuxuan couldn't help but get a little angry: "Look at you, you're already so thin, and you've gotten so wet. Why don't you go change your clothes? Do you want to catch a cold?"

"Third brother?" Xu Qingzhi looked at her with some surprise after being suddenly interrupted like that.

Well, she knew her strong-woman complex was acting up again; she always loved to play the Virgin Mary. But really, was it necessary for an official to be so headstrong? Compared to him, she, Lord Li, was utterly outclassed.

She sat down by the fire, and the autumn wind brought a welcome coolness: "Brother, it looks like this rain isn't going to stop anytime soon. You should go change your clothes; getting sick on this journey isn't a good thing."

"Yes." Xu Qingzhi looked at him gratefully: "Third brother, I'm so happy that you care about me so much."

"Go!" Prince Xin waved his hand. "We'll wait for you here."

"yes!"

Xu Qingzhi turned and walked out. Prince Xin turned to look at Li Yuxuan and said, "You care about him a lot?"

“Of course, some people are gentlemen and some are villains. Do you expect me to ignore gentlemen and focus on villains?” Li Yuxuan said, then couldn’t help but chuckle. “Your Highness, I was just using an analogy. Don’t take it personally.”

"There are too many petty people and even more hypocrites in this world. Rather than being a hypocrite, I'd rather be a genuine petty person. What do you think?"

“I’m telling you, Your Highness, you’re definitely not the villain people talk about.”

"Oh, hahaha!" Prince Xin laughed loudly. "Are you sure?"

Li Yuxuan also laughed: "I'm not sure. In my heart, Your Highness is a fox that can never be seen through."

The soldiers nearby, who were listening to their conversation, all cast surprised glances at Li Yuxuan. This Lord Li was far too presumptuous in front of the Prince. Could it be that the two of them had that kind of relationship? It was possible. Look at the way the Prince looked at him, like he was looking at a young lover... And look at Lord Li, his body was so thin, like a woman's.

Hmm—

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. Before the rain had even stopped, rumors of an unspeakable relationship between Prince Xin and Lord Li had already reached everyone's ears.

When Xu Qingzhi came in after changing his clothes, he saw two guards standing at the tent entrance whispering to each other. As soon as he entered, the one of them immediately shut his mouth.

When Li Yuxuan saw him enter, he smiled and said, "A gentleman has arrived. Please have a seat."

Seeing their expressions, as if they were talking about something pleasant, Xu Qingzhi sat down beside them and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Prince Xin glanced at Li Yuxuan and laughed, "We were saying that a gentleman is always open and honest, while a petty person is always worried and anxious."

“We’re talking about pretty girls, big brother, do you want to listen?” Li Yuxuan smiled mischievously, and saw Xu Qingzhi blush as he wished.

"Just kidding, we're talking about the Begonia Girl from Yipinxiang."

"Miss Haitang, what's wrong with her?" Xu Qingzhi asked, somewhat puzzled. "Why did you think of her?"

“We were saying that a refined lady like Miss Haitang is a perfect match for a romantic and talented man like Brother Xu.” Li Yuxuan squinted her eyes, feigning infatuation. She couldn’t help but tease Xu Qingzhi because she really loved seeing him blush.

Xu Qingzhi knew she was outspoken, so he pretended not to hear and looked at Prince Xin: "Your Highness, the rain is getting heavier and heavier. I'm afraid we'll have to spend the night here. Tell the soldiers to start cooking!"

Prince Xin nodded: "Tell the soldiers to keep a close watch on the annual allowance. This weather is very unusual!"

The mantis stalks the cicada